As a ball catching tool which is used in a baseball game or in a softball game, a glove, a catcher's mitt, or a first baseman's mitt, is well known. Generally, the glove, or the mitt, which is used in the baseball game or the softball game, is functionally designed in consideration of both the function to protect a user's hand, and the function to facilitate a ball catching action and a ball throwing action (an action of passing a ball from a ball catching hand to a skillful hand) in accordance with a feature of play at each fielding position. For example, the mitt has a shape which is designed more in consideration of the function to catch a ball, in contrast with the glove. Particularly, the catcher's mitt is required to have a structure which is suitable for catching the ball being thrown by a pitcher at a very high speed.
The hand's fingers are accommodated inside the catcher's mitt in such a manner that the thumb and the other four fingers are opposed to each other. The position (sweet spot) which is the most suitable for catching the ball and which exerts less shock upon the hand at time of catching the ball, locates near a root part between the thumb and the forefinger. The hand is not injured if the ball is received in the sweet spot.
However, for example, a ball which a batter foul-tips changes its course abruptly, immediately before the catcher receives the ball; therefore, the ball often misses the sweet spot and hits the catcher's mitt. In such a case, the force of the ball is exerted upon the palm or each finger accommodated inside the catcher's mitt unnaturally and in irregular directions; as a result, the force thereof may cause the catcher's hand to be injured. In particular, the hand is injured more often when the foul-tipped ball misses the sweet spot and hits the catcher's mitt on a side near the thumb than when the foul-tipped ball misses the sweet spot and hits the catcher's mitt on a side near the four fingers opposite to the thumb.
The main reason can be that the force of the ball is received only by one finger when the foul-tipped ball hits the catcher's mitt on the side near the thumb, in contrast with the fact that the force of the ball is received by a plurality of fingers when the foul-tipped ball hits the catcher's mitt on the side near the four fingers other than the thumb. Unexpectedly enough, there seems to be another reason for the above which is often based upon a problem relating to a holding structure for holding the thumb inside the mitt.
With respect to the conventional mitt, each of the forefinger and the middle finger is respectively inserted into a bag-shaped portion, which generally conforms to the size of each finger so as to allow each finger to be entirely inserted therein. The third finger (ring finger) and the little finger are inserted together into one bag-shaped portion, within which only the little finger is passed through a loop-shaped portion made of a strap. Also, the thumb is passed through a loop-shaped portion made of a strap. Each of the loop-shaped portions made of the straps, pulls the thumb and the little finger, respectively, in a direction in which they are kept open wide so as to catch the ball easily. In order to pull the fingers in the direction in which they are kept open, the strap is arranged as follows. That is, one end of the strap is sewn to a surface, with which the palm of the hand inserted into the mitt or the inner part (belly part) of the finger of the hand contacts, of a leather of the mitt. More specifically, the one end of the strap is sewn to be fixed to the surface thereof at an outer edge of a so-called bank part of the surface thereof. The strap extends from the side of the inner part of the finger to the back side (outer side) thereof along an inner side of the finger. The other end of the strap is formed as a forked part with a pair of ends. Each of the pair of ends is passed through an opening formed on a back leather, with which the back (or outer side) of the hand inserted into the mitt or the back (or outer side) of the finger of the hand contacts, of the mitt, and the pair of ends of the strap are knotted with each other outside the back leather. With respect to the strap thus arranged, the thumb is fitted to the strap in a direction in which the same finger is closed, thus possible to preferably control the closing action of the mitt (at time of catching the ball).
The structure for holding the thumb and the little finger with such a strap as aforementioned, is favorable for the movement of the mitt in the direction in which the finger is closed. However, the structure allows the finger to freely move within the loop-shaped portion in a direction in which the fingers are opened. With such an arrangement, if the hand is put inside in the mitt, and if a foul-tipped ball misses the sweet spot and hits the bank portion on the thumb side for example, a shock is not directly applied to the hand; however, the mitt is instantaneously deviated with respect to the hand so that the mitt is twisted, or turned, with respect thereto in a direction of the shock. Under the situation in which the mitt is deviated with respect to the hand, if the force of the ball further pushes the mitt, a force is exerted upon the thumb in an unnatural direction. As a result, it seems that the thumb, particularly a joint part of the thumb, gets injured. Meanwhile, if the same situation occurs on the side of the little finger, it may seem that the little finger also gets injured. However, if the ball hits the bank portion on the little finger side, the four fingers other than the thumb, the palm of the hand, and the outer side of the hand, are rotated together about the wrist (or they are rotated together in a direction in which the shock, or impact, is absorbed and reduced) rather than the force of the ball is exerted upon the one little finger. That is, the shock does not concentrate upon one location; instead, the shock is apt to disperse over the whole part of the hand. Therefore, it is less probable that the hand is injured, and it is much less probable that only the little finger is injured.
On the other hand, as an irregular use of the mitt, the hand can be accommodated inside the mitt even if the finger is not inserted through the loop-shaped portion of the strap. In case that the mitt becomes soft as it is used for a longer time, the user has a sense (or feeling) of less incongruity even if the strap is not positioned in its original position. Accordingly, there is some possibility that the user puts the mitt on the hand without inserting the thumb through the loop-shaped portion involuntarily. Under such a situation of usage thereof, the mitt is particularly unstable relative to the hand, and it is not possible to surely catch, or receive, the ball.
The structure for supporting the thumb by the loop-shaped portion of the strap is adopted not only for the catcher's mitt, but also for the glove and the first baseman's mitt. It is not so often that the glove or the first baseman's mitt receives the ball under such a hard condition as that under which the catcher's mitt is placed. However, similar to the catcher's mitt, it is expected that the loop-shaped portion of the strap of glove or the first baseman's mitt has an effect to protect the joint part of the thumb.
The structure which allows the mitt or the glove not to be fitted to the hand and to be easily deviated relative to the hand when the foul-tipped ball hits the bank portion on the thumb side, for example, as aforementioned, seems to be a cause for injuring, particularly, the joint part, or root part, of the thumb of the hand. Therefore, the improvement of the structure is desired.
The present invention is intended to effectively solve the technical problem, as aforementioned, of the prior art, in view of the problem thereof. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ball catching tool in which a fittable nature between the hand and the mitt on the side of the thumb, or between the hand and the glove on the side of the thumb, is enhanced, so that the thumb can be less injured.